KNEW
KNEW (960 AM) is a talk radio station licensed to Oakland, California and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station under its current format was originally KQKE ("960 The Quake") then KKGN ("Green 960"). On January 3, 2012, KKGN changed its call sign to KNEW and shifted to a wider-based talk format. The move is part of an broader restructuring of talk programming in Clear Channel's San Francisco cluster. Progressive talk programming The station carries a full-time schedule of local and syndicated progressive talk programming. KQKE ("AM 960 The Quake") and the progressive talk format debuted in September, 2004. The Quake's tag lines were "The Bay Area Home of Air America," "Talk Radio for the Rest of Us" and "Talk Radio from the Left." The station carries a mix of Air America Radio programs, Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, and local programming in the mornings and on weekends. One weekend show, Shake!, airs on Sunday nights and is targeted toward the Bay Area's gay and lesbian community. The show previously aired on co-owned KLSD in San Diego. In 2006, KQKE introduced a local morning show featuring political satirist Will Durst and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. Keeping it Real with Will and Willie aired from 7-10A Monday through Friday. The show was canceled, and aired its final regular broadcast on September 29, 2006. At that time, the program director indicated that "the pair will still do special broadcasts and appearances for the station." The Progressive News Hour with John Scott used to air weekdays from 6-7A, leading into Keeping it Real with Will and Willie and was a rundown of local and national news, as well as weather and traffic reports. Shortly after Will and Willie disappeared, Miller's morning show arrived to take the 6-9A slot on KQKE. The Progressive News Hour currently airs from 4-6P, and it's content is now a little more focused on the Bay Area, including more interviews and news about Bay Area people and politics, with a little less repetition of national news stories. "AM 960 The Quake" was not related to KQAK, a San Francisco station that was on the air from 1982 to 1985 that also called itself "The Quake". However, Paul "Lobster" Wells holds the distinction of working for both 'Quake' stations, as he served as producer and on-air contributor for KQKE's former morning show. On August 13, 2007, KQKE changed their call sign to KKGN, with a repositioning as "Green 960" and an emphasis on environmental issues following on August 27. On January 3, 2012, KKGN changed its call sign to KNEW and shifted to a wider-based talk format. The move is part of an broader restructuring of talk programming in Clear Channel's San Francisco cluster. History This station went on the air as KROW in 1925, and used those call letters until 1959. They were a full service station that launched the careers of such performers as comedian Phyllis Diller. KABL This station is best known as the longtime home of KABL, the successor to KROW and one of the first beautiful music stations in the United States, owned by 1950s radio pioneer Gordon McLendon. In 1997, the station switched to a traditional pop and big band format. They briefly switched to a 1960s-1970s soft rock format in 2000, but returned to the older music after complaints from their regular audience. In September, 2004, 960 AM dropped the adult standards programming and the KABL call letters. KABL subsequently reemerged at then co-owned 92.1 FM in Walnut Creek, California. The station had a very limited signal beyond its immediate broadcast area however, and in July 2005, went off of the air entirely, replaced by adult contemporary music. Today, KABL webcasts as an internet-only station. Ratings Italics denote ratings under previous format * Became KKGN in August 2007 '' ''Source: Arbitron External links *green960.com * Category:Radio stations